Oddity of Simplicity
by xxEnnelAikuMeikaxx
Summary: Akashi Seijuurou goes grocery shopping.


**Akashi Seijuurou goes grocery shopping.**

0o0o0o0o

"Young Master Seijuurou should sit back and let me manage this."

"No, I insist."

"Young Master, please -,"

"You _will_ drive me there and I _will_ do it myself."

"The House Head won't be too pleased hearing of this, Young Master."

"If he wants a reliable heir, this is what I should do."

"… But -,"

"That is final."

0o0o0o0o

Every day is the same typical routine – wake up, get ready, go to school, excel in classes and carry out all the work placed on his shoulders. Then, he finishes off any loose threads before cleaning up his table and packing up his things. By the end of the day, he either rings up his chauffeur to pick him up, or not to. But either way they always follow the same directions.

Down the road, past the convenience store where he'd sometimes see his friends at, then crossing the road carefully so he can take the left road of the fork, then from there it was just walking straight until he finds the elite neighborhood he lives in.

But today, that routine will change.

Akashi Seijuurou makes a detour and goes for the right side of the fork instead, walking up the road until he finds the supermarket.

0o0o0o0o

 ** _Shopping List_**

 _ ***** Miso soup paste_

 _ ***** Mayonnaise _

_***** Mild curry powder _

_***** Skinless chicken breast _

_***** Carrots (4)_

 _ ***** Potatoes (3)_

 _ ***** Dried seaweed _

**_Good luck, Young Master!_**

 ** _P/S: Worry not for the quality. The Head Chef fully trusts the brands in the supermarket._**

Akashi's eyes survey the shelves. Boxes litter his view, with different names branded on each of them. Some are brightly coloured and some look dull, and some look like they imitate a style from the previous millennium (also known as vintage – a term that his friends had introduced to him).

Akashi has never grocery shopped before – so the scenery that greets him is like a breath of fresh air. He's excited, but he won't show that. Of course not. No one should see him gushing over the thousands of foods on the racks. He's used to convenience store racks, true, but supermarket shelves? Honestly, he has never seen this many food in one building.

He resists the urge to gasp when he spots a box of miso soup paste. Instead, he looks around before jogging over to it, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

 _Amazing,_ he thinks, _I have lived fifteen years of my life, yet I have never done something as fun as this._

But then, a problem arises.

Akashi reaches out to a box – then he stops, and withdraws. He carefully scrutinizes the box, then to the container next to it. One is powder and the other is a semi-liquid paste. One says "Shiro Miso Soup" and the other has different syllables instead. He looks back down at the list one of the maids handed to him.

They did not specify which brand they wanted.

Akashi hums, cupping his chin and tapping his feet. What should he do? He should contact the butler and ask, of course. If he bought a wrong miso soup paste, then the miso soup would taste differently. He can't do that when miso soup is his father's favourite dish. His father would sulk and have zero energy for work.

Okay, maybe his father isn't that weak. But not having a delicious tofu soup makes him like that, so who says that his father would be different?

"Excuse me,"

Akashi almost jumps. Instead he swivels around on his heels and barely maintains his balance as his eyes widen and his jaw clenches tightly.

A hand comes into view, and Akashi watches as the boy behind him take one of the pastes on the shelf. When their eyes meet, he showcases a small, shy smile to Akashi before examining the thing in his hand. Akashi on the other hand turns back to the shelf.

It was only for a while, but Akashi saw. The tousled, bright blue hair, the pale unblemished skin, the perfectly shaped lips and the mesmerizing crystal eyes - Oh, he saw them all. And it took his breath away; how amazingly bright but gentle the colour is to the eyes, the smooth skin resembling that of a porcelain doll, how his eyes resembled the pristine waters of a glacial river.

Akashi has never seen someone so beautiful – and he knows Kise Ryouta.

"Excuse me," The boy says politely, and oh how Akashi shivers at the sound of a clear, soft, yet confident voice as he speaks. "Would you mind taking that for me?"

Akashi snaps from his thoughts and turns to the boy before him. Their eyes meet once more, but the boy doesn't turn away and so does Akashi. Instead, he points to something up on the shelf, right above Akashi's head. Akashi's gaze follows to where his finger is pointing, and he sees another container of miso soup paste. With ease, he swipes it off the shelf and hands it over.

"Thank you,"

It takes all of Akashi's will to not blush in front of a stranger. He turns back to the shelf again, though glancing once in a while to the boy who now stands beside him, scanning the wordings on the container. After a while, he nods, satisfied with his pick, and starts to move away.

"Um,"

The single syllable managed to make the boy freeze, before turning to Akashi. The single syllable also made Akashi slap a hand onto his mouth, because w _hy did he just let that slip?_

Relax.

"Um, I apologize. But, please come here for a moment."

Relax.

"A-Ah, yes, what is it?"

Relax.

"Well…,"

 _Relax._

"What brand would you recommend?"

Real smooth, Akashi.

The boy now looks confusedly at him. Akashi makes a loud groaning sound internally, and he stamps on something new to his To-Do List; hide under the covers of his bed and probably hibernate in shame until the end of the day.

But then a grin broke out on the other's face along with a small giggle, and Akashi feels like crumpling a soda can in his fist.

0o0o0o0o

"Thank you, have a good day!"

Akashi walks out of the supermarket building with plastic bags in his hands, carefully cradling his school bag all the while he makes his way to a bench nearby the exit. His back is starting to ache, both from carrying the load in his arms and also from the amount of activities he'd done during the day. He clucks his tongue before letting the bags down on the bench and collapsing against the wooden backrest, letting out a pleased sigh.

"Akashi-kun looks rather tired," Kuroko Tetsuya says, already comfortably seated beside the redhead as he sips on a bottle of caramel and vanilla-flavoured milk. He has been walking with Akashi as the redhead does his shopping, pointing out significant brands and products with promising quality while Akashi nods and files the information away. Thanks to him, Akashi has successfully gone through his first grocery shopping experience without any severe mistakes.

"I admit that I am," He replies, looking up at the sky and blowing out his breath, making puffs of white appear. He rubs his hands together, quite hindered by the autumn cold. "But I can't be."

At this, Kuroko raises an eyebrow and stows away his milk. "Why?"

Akashi turns to him and sees the mystifying being again. He shoots him a small smile, hoping to look nonchalant. "I have a difficult future ahead of me, you see. Soon I will have to manage things on my own."

"… I take it grocery shopping is considered as baby steps for you?"

"You could say that."

They turn away from each other and all is silent between them for a while, except for the sounds of the wind and leaves rustling, together with the slight hustle and bustle of people way ahead. It's as if they're both encased in their own world, just the two of them and their plastic bags.

"Akashi-kun seems rather capable already," Kuroko speaks up all of a sudden, breaking the spell in the atmosphere.

At this, Akashi stifles a chuckle. "Capable at shopping, you mean."

"No," Kuroko smiles, eyes fixated on Akashi as he fingers the hem of his coat. "I mean at carrying yourself."

Akashi just hums thoughtfully in response. "And you could summarize this from just one shopping trip?"

"That's right," Akashi had expected a denial, maybe even a sheepish laugh. Akashi snaps his gaze towards Kuroko to see him swinging his dangling feet back and forth. "Going alone even when it's your first time, submitting your opinions on appropriate occasions, detailed comparison of the products, being considerate to others as you shop, charming people as you handle things, confidently putting the task to a finish.

"To you, they might be trivial. But people tend to overlook the fact that even the simplest things can teach us even the basics of a life skill."

Akashi listens to Kuroko's words carefully, unable to help the feeling that it was rather silly of how Kuroko interprets so much from simple actions. He turns away from him, looking at the cars scattered across the car park, his gears still running to properly accept Kuroko's opinion.

There was one thing that Akashi agreed on, though; to him, these things _are_ trivial.

What does show his capability is what he achieved, not a stroll through the supermarket. He is the student council president, the top student in their whole grade, the basketball team captain, the unbeatable shogi player – he has achieved titles from every area his father had thrown him into. Now _that_ is concrete proof of his capability.

But, Kuroko's words do make sense. In a way, it does. The epiphany dawns on him slowly, and Akashi just finds himself smiling politely and nodding, a show of acknowledgement towards Kuroko's views.

"I'd best be going," Kuroko licks and smacks his lips together to moisten them before hopping off the bench and straightening his coat. He turns to Akashi and bows. "I'm grateful for your company, Akashi-kun. I hope to see you again."

Akashi stands up from the bench as well and nods, bowing but not as low as Kuroko's. "And to you, I am also thankful. Though, I believe it'd be difficult for us to meet again."

Kuroko straightens and so does Akashi. Kuroko flashes him another small and humble smile as he grabs his own plastic bag and bottle of milk. "We might be nearer to each other than you think, Akashi-kun," With another quick bow, Kuroko starts making his way out of the premise. "Goodbye."

Akashi simply raises an eyebrow at Kuroko's statement, but he doesn't stop him from walking away this time. In fact, Akashi watches Kuroko until he disappears from his sight before dropping back onto the bench.

Somehow, he just feels more tired than ever.

0o0o0o0o

 **Author's note:**

Yeah don't ask me what's up with the ending

I just came back from a two-week trip in New Zealand and I thought damn, I really wanna write akkr rn

This was supposed to be included in The Aeroplane Series, but I strayed off from the original prompt and decided that this should be a standalone one-shot.

But hey all opinions welcome! Critique my writing style, or the pointless plot, pretty much anything. Please go ahead. But no flaming, though, just useful critiques.


End file.
